Nkosi Doyisa (31) caused something of a shock when he won the Maximum Fighting Championship (MFC) middle weight division held in Durban recently.
In doing so, the man nicknamed ‘Disaster’ made history for his home town of Bhobhoyi, becoming the first mixed martial arts middle weight champion from the region.
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He fights for Team Silverbacks, which is based in Durban, stands at 1.78m and weighed 84kg on fight night.
Nkosi hasn’t been in the sport for too long, but is earning the respect of his peers and fellow fighters.
He finds MMA an intriguing challenge, where he’s learning to perfect his strengths and manage his weaknesses.
“I’m a striker,” he said, with the cool, calm look of a trained assassin.
“Timing is everything, it’s not good just swinging. You have to wait for the right moment, try to deceive your opponent into making a wrong move.”
While he’s lightning quick with his hands, thanks to his jiu-jitsu background, he doesn’t like to go to ground and have to wrestle his way out of a hold.
But he’s learning fast, and finding ways to defend himself in such a situation.
Nkosi is incredibly proud of his home town of Bhobhoyi and his former high school, Marburg Secondary.
Even back in school days he had a determination to succeed in life.
This success comes against some odds, as he works full-time for a cash transit company, whereas many of the other fighters train on an almost full-time basis.
On the night, he defeated his namesake Nkosi Mphakhati with a strong strike in the first round.
That ended the fight, which can, and often does, go for a maximum of five rounds.
He had had a decent build up to the fight, winning seven and losing one, interestingly enough, to Mphakati.
In the final he came face-to-face with an opponent most others expected to win, but he knew what he was up against.
“My strategy was to make sure I got close enough to him to throw punches. I knew my strike would work in my favour, but I had to be extra careful as he is a skilled and dangerous fighter,” he said.
“I was well prepared and won, and came back as the new champion. I’m proud to say it’s a first for the South Coast.”
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